Heroes Reborn (2015) TV Pilot Review

After ending 5 years ago, Heroes has returned with an exciting new chapter in the story. Featuring both new and old characters, intriguing powers and a gripping storyline, Heroes Reborn has all the potential to stand against and maybe even outdo its predecessor.

Warning, there may be spoilers ahead.

Heroes opened with a two-parter on Thursday and introduced us to a host of new heroes and villains, as well as bringing back some fan favourites. The story is set 1 year after a tragic terrorist attack that killed both EVOs (people with powers) and non EVOs. The EVOs were blamed and are now being hunted. We’re thrown into this world straight away, and see many of the characters struggle to hide their powers.

Heroes Reborn has a lot of characters. It really is a huge cast and judging by the promo for next week, we haven’t even met them all yet. With so many people to write for you’d think that certain characters would be forgotten about or not developed well. Surprisingly that wasn’t the case. Each character got an adequate amount of screen time and I feel like we really got a chance to get to know them.

Newcomers Zachary Levi and Ryan Guzman, who play Luke and Carlos respectively, were the ones I found most interesting, mostly because of the moral ambiguity of the two.

Carlos is a soldier who is getting a medal for his bravery whilst serving and yet he hints that he doesn’t deserve it. There’s obviously more to the story and it’s possible that he’s not the hero everyone thinks he is. On the other hand we have Luke who is quickly established as a villain that goes around shooting EVOs with his wife. But as the episode progresses we learn his actions stem from the grief of losing his son and he shows hesitation in killing.

In the trailer for next week’s episode he begins to question what they’re doing. He seems like a very tortured character and even though he’s meant to be the bad guy I feel sympathy for him. It’s also great to see Levi in such a different role. Known for playing the hero, it looks like he’s relishing playing Luke.

As brilliant as the newcomers are, I love that Jack Coleman is back as Noah Bennet AKA HRG. He was my favourite character in the original series and I predict that it will be the same for Reborn. He’s a character with so any layers and such a rich history that he’s a major asset to the show. He also shares that morally ambiguous character trait that Carlos and Luke have. Moral ambiguity was one of Heroes greatest strengths, the characters would often drift between good and bad throughout the show and it made them that much more interesting and believable. It looks like Reborn is following this pattern and it wouldn’t surprise me if we see certain characters change sides before the end of the season.

With so much time devoted to all of these characters you have to wonder if the plot will suffer. After the first two episodes the major storyline is still shrouded in mystery. We still don’t know much about the terror attack and the whole “something bad is coming” was very vague. But perhaps that’s the point. Give us little information and get us invested in the characters so we tune in next week. It’s obviously working as I am itching to see episode 3.

Looking at the first two episodes I do wonder if it’s accessible to new viewers. I watched the entirety of the original series and I think it definitely put me in a better position for Heroes Reborn. I was already drawn into the story and it made the idea of seeing old characters Matt Parkman and Micah Sanders again that much more exciting. It also made the death of fan favourite The Haitian very upsetting and shocking. I’m actually still in disbelief at that bold move; I’ve got my fingers crossed that they’ll find a way to bring him back. The balance of serving the old fans and obtaining new ones must be quite tricky but I think they linked it together quite well. I think it’s going to have to be something they’re constantly working on and maybe it’ll encourage people to go back and watch older episodes.

Heroes has come back with a vengeance. The opener was an impressive start and showcased a whole new world for us to get involved in. With a talented cast, enigmatic new characters and a compelling story Heroes Reborn looks to be a roaring success. Here’s hoping this mini-series spawns a second season.